House Hunting In Toronto Team™
Franca Capano, Rick McGuigan & Robert Holbrook -
HomeLife/Cimerman Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage -
© 2002 -
First-Time Home Buyers in Toronto
The governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto have established several incentives for first time home buyers that will help offset some of the costs of buying a home and provide you with some of the cash to make a down payment.
The RRSP Home Buyer's Plan (HBP) was introduced by the federal government, and allows first time home buyers to withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSPs tax free to use towards the purchase of a home.
To qualify as a first time home buyer, purchaser must not have lived in a home owned by himself or his spouse in the last five years. If both you and your spouse qualify under the Plan, you can each withdraw up to $25,000 from your RRSPs for a total of $50,000.
Before you are entitled to withdraw the money from your RRSP, you must have entered into a written agreement to purchase or build a home that you intend to occupy as your principal residence. The purchase of a cottage, for example, would not qualify for this program because it is not a principal residence.
Money can be withdrawn from your RRSP provided it has been in your RRSP for at least 90 days. If you have signed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale and you have at least 90 days until your closing, you can open an RRSP and make a contribution, receive the tax deferred benefit and then withdraw the same money and put it towards the purchase of your home.
Your first repayment is due the second year following the year in which you made your withdrawals. You have up to 15 years to repay the amount that you withdrew under the HBP. Generally, for each year of your repayment period, you have to repay 1/15 of the total amount you withdrew until the full amount is repaid to your RRSPs. If you do not pay the full amount back to your RRSP within 15 years, the amount outstanding will be subject to tax when you file your income tax return in the following year.
What if you don't have any money in your RRSP?
Do not worry, you can still take advantage of the Home Buyers Plan (HBP). If you are earning income, or have earned income in the past few years, you are entitled to contribute to an RRSP. What is not very well known about the HBP is that you can contribute to an RRSP retroactive. Therefore, check to see what your RRSP contribution limit is. It is shown on your previous years Notice of Assessment, or call Revenue Canada.
If you need help raising a down payment, the HBP may be of some use to you. If there
are significant unused contributions from previous years, take out a short-
A tax refund is an acceptable down payment if it is in hand at the time of closing.
For general information about Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP), visit the website of Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.
Provincial Land Transfer Tax Refund
First-
To qualify for a refund:
- you must be at least 18 years old;
- you cannot have previously owned a home, or an interest in a home anywhere in the world;
- your spouse cannot have owned a home, or an interest in a home anywhere while he/she was your spouse.
The maximum refund is $2,000 and qualifying purchasers must apply for the refund no later than 18 months after registration of the home if they do not receive the refund at the time of registration.
For information about the refund, visit the website of the Ontario Ministry of Finance.
Municipal Land Transfer Tax Refund
As a taxation measure granted under the City of Toronto Act,2006, Toronto City Council approved a new Municipal Land Transfer Tax effective February 1, 2008 that will be applied to purchases on all properties in the city of Toronto in addition to the Province's Land Transfer Tax.
You may be eligible for a rebate of the MLTT if you are a first-
For information about the refund, visit the website of the City of Toronto.
The HBTC is a new non-
You will qualify for the HBTC if:
- you or your spouse or common-
law partner acquire a qualifying home; and - you did not live in another home owned by you or your spouse or common-
law partner in the year of acquisition or in any of the four preceding years.
- RRSP Home Buyer’s Plan: (allows first time home buyers to withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSPs tax free to use towards the purchase of a home
- Provincial Land Transfer Tax Refund: (First-
time home buyers of resale homes may receive a refund from the provincial government of up to $2,000 of the land transfer tax paid) - Municipal Land Transfer Tax Refund: (You may be eligible for a rebate of the MLTT
if you are a first-
time purchaser of a newly constructed or re- sale residential property with two or less single- family residences. The rebate for first- time purchasers is up to a maximum of $3,725.00
- Home Buyers’ Tax Credit: (The HBTC is a new non-
refundable tax credit, based on an amount of $5,000, for certain home buyers that acquire a qualifying home)
Home Buyers Online Seminar
Tips For First-
From the moment you think about buying a home, start planning. One of the first steps on the road to purchasing a home is to save money for the down payment. Most people finance the purchase of their homes with a mortgage loan. Traditionally, financial institutions would only give mortgage loans for up to 75% of the value of the home, and therefore required a 25% down payment on the purchase of a home. However, with mortgage insurance, you can now obtain a mortgage loan for up to 95% of the value of the home with as little as a 5% down payment.
To qualify for a mortgage loan, you will be subject to a credit check. Request a copy of your credit report. Carefully examine it for errors, and clean it up before you talk to a lender. For at least one year prior to purchasing a home, you should ensure that every credit card invoice, rent cheque, car payment and other debt is paid in full and on time.
If you are you currently renting, check your lease for an early termination clause. If you will be subject to penalties, try to time your closing with the expiration of the lease.
It is smart to ask your lender to pre-
Look at many homes, including an assortment of types of homes. When you view a property, list the positives and the negatives. Do not stop your inspection at the property line. Examine the surrounding area. Is it safe, well maintained and moderately quiet? Is it convenient to work, schools and shops? Ask about zoning and that vacant lot across the street.
When you decide on a lender (a bank, your credit union, or a mortgage lender) and
a mortgage, get every detail in writing, in particular, the lock-
Read all the documents related to the purchase of the property, and have a professional review them. You are signing a binding, legal document.
Ready to go house hunting? We will gladly explain the options, and provide you with information detailing current market conditions, financing options and listings of available homes for sale.
Buying your first home! It is exciting, but also a bit intimidating! Where do you start? First you need information. After all, buying a home will probably be the biggest financial commitment you make in your lifetime. Next, you want answers to your questions.
That is why we have designed the TORONTO FIRST-
Just complete the short sign-
The Home Buyers Online Seminar comes as a Digital Web Book, has a 3D look, click
able page turning and a readability factor far greater than text on a web page or
PDF-
Click cover below for more information